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AV8, Mascot, Sydney

Guest blogger edition

I had previously attended a friend's wedding at the Stamford hotel in Mascot (near the airport) and thought the food was pretty decent. So when browsing the entertainment book, the AV8 restaurant came up and I noticed it was part of the Stamford and thought - why not try it out!

We rocked up on a Friday night, at around 645pm. It was a bit hard to find as it was towards the back of the hotel but there were some helpful signs leading the way. Not sure if it's because its newish but the place was pretty dead. Apart from us, there was only maybe 10 other people. I suspect they were probably hotel guests looking for a quick feed.

Nonetheless, we had high hopes, having eaten in the hotel and also because there are a number of high quality gastro pubs around these days.

We made our orders at the bar, got our number and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. We seriously waited for around 45mins to 1 hour for our first entree. Given that there were only 10 people in the whole place (and I could see that they were waiting as well), it was pretty unreasonable. Now I know what the contestants on my restaurant rules feel when they waiting forever in the instant kitchens!

Tempura baby squid with togarashi mayo - $12 - A crunchy batter with a light spicy mayo. An average entree, passable but not worth the wait.

Certified Angus Beef Rib on the bone with mushroom, beans and cafe de paris butter (300g) - $36 -I love my meat so cannot say anything bad about this piece, especially since by the time this came, I probably could have eaten a horse. The steak was juicy and flavoursome, but there was too little mushrooms and the beans were cold. Maybe a $10-$15 steak but probably not worth 36 bucks.

Crisp lamb shank with roasted garlic mash and mushy peas -$34 - Lamb shanks at the pub can be soooo good if done well (like at PJ Gallaghers). However this one didn't quite hit the mark. The flavours were packed in the lamb, but it just wasn't tender enough, the peas on top were cold and there was almost no sauce. A bit disappointing especially given the wait and the price =(

Overall, the wait times and the pricing really need to be resolved before I'd consider eating here again - even with an entertainment book voucher. Hopefully they can still turn things around!